Why I think the failure of 5C affects negatively all of us

Metro1088

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Up until 2012 Apple didn't give us any options for a phone. It was just one. This worked fine. Apple hardly ever gives choices. They test all options, they make the choice and sell you the single final cut. That's why I'm paying $700+ for a premium phone - because so many great minds made the right choices for me.

There are some theories why Apple chose to make a second phone. The industry has talked loudly about them for months. Apple's Q4 earnings backed almost all of them. But that's not why I make this thread.

I welcomed the idea of Apple releasing two phones but for a different reason. Up until now Apple has released only one phone for a broad range of users. One phone for a tech nerd and the exact same exact phone for their mom. One phone for a college student on a tight budget in Asia and the exact same phone to Kevin Michaluk. What's wrong with that, you say? Well...Apple tries to satisfy all of those people. Make a phone simple enough for my mom to use with one hand while cooking and the same phone for a tech-savvy person doing a ton of fancy stuff on their phone while flying business class. For years Apple has been managing to make a device that is simple enough for your grandma and at the same time sophisticated enough for a design-pretentious visual artist. But you can't satisfy everyone and not cut corners. (The keyboard, for example, while snappy and great, remains suspiciously dumbed down, compared to what Android offers by default.)

This is why the idea of a popular mid-range, "good enough" phone seemed perfect! Now Apple would have had a simple phone for my mom and for that Swedish student on a budget while at the same time they would have been free to make their high-end phone skyrocket to nerdy geeky high-end orbit. No more reason to dumb things down for the masses. They would have had their own phone and the 5C seemed perfect. For the rest of us, the horizon would have been clear for hardware enhancements for tech-savvy people. Touch ID, fancy scanners and biometrics, advanced camera a-la Lumia 1020. All those are features Apple doesn't need to implement on my mom's mid-range iOS phone.

But the 5C flopped - in the same context I've just described. My mom went for an overpriced mid-range Android phone.

What lesson did Apple learn?

They're probably thinking that everyone wants the exact same phone again and that my grandma and CrackBerry Kevin should again be in the same category hardware-wise (and software-wise as well). I can't help but think we're all negatively affected by this. Look at Galaxy Note - Samsung puts all their high-end stuff there because they're free to do it. An iPhone would never receive such a treatment because it's just one phone for everyone.

It's certain that Apple will release two phones again (at least) and I hope this time they finally manage to sell both of them so that they manage to differentiate their offerings. The 2013's 5C failed to do that and as an 5S user I can't help but feel disappointed. A successful 5C would have benefited us all.

Do you think that Apple would keep making the iPhone simple and accessible and compromise on risky innovations and power-user stuff because of the "one-phone-for-all" strategy or this fall might be different?

----

P.S. Hope this hasn't been discussed already. If yes, feel free to direct me to the right place.
 
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Spec wise, I just don't think even the least tech savvy person wants an inferior product. The idea of making two different screen sizes, however, I think will be their ticket to touting two devices successfully. The 5c was simply a repackaged 5. It was viewed as the inferior product and a minor $100 (or less) price difference wasn't worth it for most.

I think the upcoming rumors of two different size handsets, that's exciting.
 

JakePleasants

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Up until 2012 Apple didn't give us any options for a phone. It was just one. This worked fine. Apple hardly ever gives choices. They test all options, they make the choice and sell you the single final cut. That's why I'm paying $700+ for a premium phone - because so many great minds made the right choices for me.

There are some theories why Apple chose to make a second phone. The industry has talked loudly about them for months. Apple's Q4 earnings backed almost all of them. But that's not why I make this thread.

I welcomed the idea of Apple releasing two phones but for a different reason. Up until now Apple has released only one phone for a broad range of users. One phone for a tech nerd and the exact same exact phone for their mom. One phone for a college student on a tight budget in Asia and the exact same phone to Kevin Michaluk. What's wrong with that, you say? Well...Apple tries to satisfy all of those people. Make a phone simple enough for my mom to use with one hand while cooking and the same phone for a tech-savvy person doing a ton of fancy stuff on their phone while flying business class. For years Apple has been managing to make a device that is simple enough for your grandma and at the same time sophisticated enough for a design-pretentious visual artist. But you can't satisfy everyone and not cut corners. (The keyboard, for example, while snappy and great, remains suspiciously dumbed down, compared to what Android offers by default.)

This is why the idea of a popular mid-range, "good enough" phone seemed perfect! Now Apple would have had a simple phone for my mom and for that Swedish student on a budget while at the same time they would have been free to make their high-end phone skyrocket to nerdy geeky high-end orbit. No more reason to dumb things down for the masses. They would have had their own phone and the 5C seemed perfect. For the rest of us, the horizon would have been clear for hardware enhancements for tech-savvy people. Touch ID, fancy scanners and biometrics, advanced camera a-la Lumia 1020. All those are features Apple doesn't need to implement on my mom's mid-range iOS phone.

But the 5C flopped - in the same context I've just described. My mom went for an overpriced mid-range Android phone.

What lesson did Apple learn?

They're probably thinking that everyone wants the exact same phone again and that my grandma and CrackBerry Kevin should again be in the same category hardware-wise (and software-wise as well). I can't help but think we're all negatively affected by this. Look at Galaxy Note - Samsung puts all their high-end stuff there because they're free to do it. An iPhone would never receive such a treatment because it's just one phone for everyone.

It's certain that Apple will release two phones again (at least) and I hope this time they finally manage to sell both of them so that they manage to differentiate their offerings. The 2013's 5C failed to do that and as an 5S user I can't help but feel disappointed. A successful 5C would have benefited us all.

Do you think that Apple would keep making the iPhone simple and accessible and compromise on risky innovations and power-user stuff because of the "one-phone-for-all" strategy or this fall might be different?

----

P.S. Hope this hasn't been discussed already. If yes, feel free to direct me to the right place.


I agree with the vast majority of what you said, but I have to take issue with one thing. You said that the Note gets all the higher-end features and specifications that the iPhone has never and will never see because Apple presents and markets it as a one-size-fits-all solution, but the fact is that the iPhone has had some great innovations over the years. The iPhone 4 introduced the retina display, which at the time was a huge breakthrough that started the whole pixel-density craze. The iPhone 4S started another craze with the virtual assistant, now known to iPhone users as Siri. Siri has been mimicked by both Google and Samsung (which you ironically said gives its users all the great features in Note line), in the form of Google Now and S-Voice, respectively. Next, two big innovations were delivered by the 5S, a fingerprint-scanner built right into the phone's home button and a 64-Bit chipset, both industry firsts. Granted, the Motorola Atrix was truly the first phone with a fingerprint-scanner, but as anyone who's ever used it knows, it wasn't much of a fingerprint-scanner at all.
 
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Just_Me_D

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You are sadly mistaken if you think I am negatively impacted by the alleged failure of the iPhone 5C. Whether it sold only one or a billion, I could care less because I had no intentions of every buying it. My current device is still serving me quite well…..:)
 

Spencerdl

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I have to agree with D and iOSG, NO negative feelings toward my GOLD iPhone 5s or Apple as a whole.
 

melbsteve

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5and5C.png
well I have both 'premium' and 'popular mid-range' right next to me. Have been using the premium first, now the C for a few months and I still can't decide which one to carry on with. They're both quality devices and each have their perks. Don't feel negatively affected at all. I actually believe it's good and important to have this option on the market. I hope it has come to stay.
 
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well I have both 'premium' and 'popular mid-range' right next to me. Have been using the premium first, now the C for a few months and I still can't decide which one to carry on with. They're both quality devices and each have their perks. Don't feel negatively affected at all. I actually believe it's good and important to have this option on the market. I hope it has come to stay.

I started with the 5c, now I've got the 5s too. I was glad they released the 5c. I'd have never owned an iPhone if they hadn't....

gypu5uva.jpg
 

GingerSnapsBack

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My current device is still serving me quite well…..:)

I had no intention on buying either the 5, the 5c or the 5s but my 4s broke and I had to do something. I got this phone for free after trading in my 4s and I'm quite pleased. I have no reason to upgrade again until this one breaks. I for one love my 5c. My only gripe would be I wish that the pink color was more of a true pink rather than an orange pink.
 

ama1776

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I'll not buy a device that relies on biometrics for full implementation. That feature alone turned me away from the 5s to the 5c. My previous devices were high end Android offerings, and I'm glad I picked up the 5c. Killer phone, and the $100 off that best buy was offering sealed the deal.
 

GingerSnapsBack

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I'll not buy a device that relies on biometrics for full implementation. That feature alone turned me away from the 5s to the 5c. My previous devices were high end Android offerings, and I'm glad I picked up the 5c. Killer phone, and the $100 off that best buy was offering sealed the deal.

Money always helps sweeten the deal. I traded in my broken 4s and got mine for free. :)
 

njshoregurlz

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I agree w you... People would of just kept the 5 or grabbed then 5S and I see many who grabbed the 5c but idk how much $$ investment INvolved? Maybe they saved $$ ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

GingerSnapsBack

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I was Considering a white 5c but I got 200$ trade in $$ so I grabbed the 5S


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's what I got, too. I was too poor to pay anything outright for the phone. I wasn't really concerned with what the S vs the C had to offer. I wanted something free to replace the aging 4s I had that quit working. The C works fine for me. Suits my needs.
 

Speedygi

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Just had to give my two cents on this: I don't think the 5C failed, but was just under a circumstance that did not favor it. It was causing fragmentation that was very minute in the scheme of things, with the 5C and the 5S being different in few things that ruffled the feathers for developers to do apps for both devices.

Plus, I did the math on the 5C and you could theoretically get a 5S 16 GB version for the same price on a similar price plan, so why would people want a device that's marketed as the low end when they could have gotten the higher end for the same price?

Add to the fact that there is really nothing that sets apart the 5C and 5S that makes 5S a less viable option, other than price, of course people are going to go for the better option with the 5S....

Even if people wanted to consider the 5C for the price alone, they would have thought (like me) about waiting for the money to get a 5S, on their recontracts/etc...

Of course the sales for the 5C won't be as good, because it's not even in Moto G or Nokia Lumia 525 pricing categories, why would Chinese or Indian feature phone users want to upgrade? To me, Apple made a wrong move with the pricing and that's about it.
 

joemd60

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I bought the 5C, and not by choice. But I will say, it has served me well.
And because of that, upgrade time.
I may very well get another iPhone, and hopefully the 6 with a little bigger screen. 😊
 

ctt1wbw

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Just had to give my two cents on this: I don't think the 5C failed, but was just under a circumstance that did not favor it. It was causing fragmentation that was very minute in the scheme of things, with the 5C and the 5S being different in few things that ruffled the feathers for developers to do apps for both devices.

Plus, I did the math on the 5C and you could theoretically get a 5S 16 GB version for the same price on a similar price plan, so why would people want a device that's marketed as the low end when they could have gotten the higher end for the same price?

Add to the fact that there is really nothing that sets apart the 5C and 5S that makes 5S a less viable option, other than price, of course people are going to go for the better option with the 5S....

Even if people wanted to consider the 5C for the price alone, they would have thought (like me) about waiting for the money to get a 5S, on their recontracts/etc...

Of course the sales for the 5C won't be as good, because it's not even in Moto G or Nokia Lumia 525 pricing categories, why would Chinese or Indian feature phone users want to upgrade? To me, Apple made a wrong move with the pricing and that's about it.

How were two phones running the same OS with the same screen size causing fragmentation? Can you explain that?
 

ctt1wbw

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I bought the 5C, and not by choice. But I will say, it has served me well.
And because of that, upgrade time.
I may very well get another iPhone, and hopefully the 6 with a little bigger screen. ��

I can tell you in all honesty that I might hold out on my upgrade and see what Ubuntu Touch has to offer. From what I've seen, that is a sweet OS.